Hello everyone, i've got a bit of a newbie question, but i've not worked with pines before and i've always been curious...can you graft any type of pine to another type of pine. Say if you tried grafting red or black pine branches onto a radiata pine tree? would they take or would it be a disastrous outcome the likes of which modern man has never experienced or lived to tell about?

I am adding to your question because I don't think trees have immune systems even remotely similar to animals. That is, I don't think there are any issues like tissue rejection in tree grafting. So, simply match up the cambium between the scion and the stock and a graft has been made. I think the problem arises because of the different growth characteristics subsequently destroys the graft (graft incompatability). Of course there undoubtedly is more to it, like the two species maybe need to have similar dormancy cycles: grafting a tropical on a temperate stock might not work out because the stock 'starves' the tropical during its dormancy, for example.

Otherwise, I think the basic issue is whether the two species have similar enough growth characteristics for the graft to survive over time, which I think is your question. Since reaction wood forms oppositely in gymnosperms and angiosperms, for example, it might be a general rule that no confer-deciduous tree graft will ever work out.

IIRC, JBP can be grafted successfully onto Ponderosa (check Michael Hagedorn). JWP is commonly grafted onto JBP roots, cedars are often on Deodor roots. So I think the answer to your question is 'yes', but you may have issues with the cosmetics of the graft union.

Again, I don't mean to hijack your thread, but to just to broaden your question. It is an interesting one.

In theory, yes any pine could be grafted to any other. Growth rates are an issue and drive compatibility. A mis-matched knot can form at the graft union if the scion grows quicker than the trunk. Generally 2 needle to 2 needle pine and 5 needle to 5 needle have the least issues. Japanese White pine is routinely grafted to Japanese Black pine. Grafting is most often used to propagate rare cultivars. Also used to change foliage on a great trunk, or to add a branch where one refuses to develop.